Watching for the best window of opportunity to attempt the ascent of K2 (8611 m, Pakistan), Benjamin Védrines finally set off from the advanced base camp (5350 m) at 0:10 am on Sunday July 28, 2024, after 40 days of waiting. He reached the summit after 10h 59mn 59s. Olympic precision for a meticulously prepared record. First reaction from Benjamin, just back from the world’s second summit.
Benjamin Védrines gave us a diabolically precise time: 10h 59 mn 59s. We hope he won’t mind rounding up to 11h to shorten our title. But this precision is certainly what enabled Benjamin Védrines to reach the summit of his dream: to reach the top of K2 in record time, in one go (“one push”) and without oxygen. Eleven hours is the time it takes for ordinary mortals to reach camp 1…
After months of intense, meticulously-prepared training, both physical with Léo Viret as trainer, and mental with Fabien Dupuis as coach, the Ecrins rocket shattered the previous record set by Frenchman Benoit Chamoux, who reached the summit of K2 in 23 hours in 1986.
A few more hours of doubt before setting off on the slopes of the Lord of the Karakoram ©Thibaut Marot
Benjamin Védrines at the start, K2 in the background. ©Thibaut Marot
Like his illustrious predecessor, Védrines set off from a marked cairn at the advanced base camp (approx. 5350 m) in the middle of the night between Saturday July 27 and Sunday July 28. He explains: “I